Handling Dolphin Fish

[aussie big bob]

Recently I caught 3 dolphin fish, which were caught early in the day and were put in the kill tank with ice and seawater.

I spent the rest of the day fishing and arrived home approx 7pm so this meant that the fish where in the kill tank for approx 8 hours.

The water was still quite cold when I removed them from the tank. But when the fish were cleaned I found that the meat to be very soft, mushie.

I was wondering if this is normal or was there something I did not do right in handling the fish in the first place

Cheers

Bob

[domza]

did you bleed them before you put them in the kill tank?

[offtap1]

Hi Bob i generally find Dollies do get a little mushy anyway, but are always firm enough to Fillet and Skin and the taste is beautifull. One point though which i always do is i bleed dolphin fish instantly and let them bleed out in kill tank before transfering them to the ice box not long after, and change kill tank water regularly, i found this to be much better. Bleeeding is essential for these fish.

[aussie big bob]

did you bleed them before you put them in the kill tank?

No.

As I did not think it would affect the fish

Does this really make a difference to the firmness of the meat?

I can tell you that I tried to fillet then but the meat was just to soft

here are the dollies i am talking about not huge

http://www.fishraider.com.au/Invision/inde...showtopic=19957

Edited April 25, 2007 by aussie big bob

[offtap1]

I Have always bled mine Bob and have never had a problem filletting and skinning. So i believe the answer to your question is YES bleeding does effect the quality of flesh. Cheers Dave

[domza]

No.

As I did not think it would affect the fish

Does this really make a difference to the firmness of the meat?

I can tell you that I tried to fillet then but the meat was just to soft

here are the dollies i am talking about not huge

http://www.fishraider.com.au/Invision/inde...showtopic=19957

I think it effects the fish big time, when i got them a few weeks ago we bled half and you can sure tell the difference at the end of the day..

next time give them a bleed a see how you go

[Frantic]

I think a good bleeding of any fish is essential.

[Luringbream]

Some great info there guys..Never new that dollies needed to be bled..

DAN

[Flightmanager]

the water temp they were caught in was around 28 deg celcius

Maybe they had started to cook Chris?

Ross

[frankp]

I Have always bled mine Bob and have never had a problem filletting and skinning. So i believe the answer to your question is YES bleeding does effect the quality of flesh. Cheers Dave

i have always found them to be easy to fillet and skin and yes we do always bleed them straight away.

i guess i bleed all my catch straight away anyway.

[Dorado 2]

If you have caught kingfish in the past you may have come across some that are deseased and have a mushy flesh. I haven't come across this for a couple of years now but every now and again we use to get an odd one here and there. Dollies can suffer with the same deseas as well and through the years I might have come across half a dozen. Whether you bleed it or not it does not matter as long as you keep it on ice!! I have found that bleeding and keeping them on ice with their blood even retains their colour!! but as I said if they have that deseas nothing will help that.

Cheers